Research Journal of Applied Sciences, Engineering and Technology 7(1): 97-104, 2014

DOI:10.19026/rjaset.7.226
ISSN: 2040-7459; e-ISSN: 2040-7467
© 2014 Maxwell Scientific Publication Corp.
Submitted: January 29, 2013 Accepted: March 08, 2013 Published: January 01, 2014

Research Article
Simulation Analysis of Transient Earth Voltages Aroused by Partial
Discharge in Switchgear
1
Man Yuyan, 1Zhang Chi, 1Xi Xiaoguang, 1Wu Minglei, 1Dong Yanwei, 1Sun Zhao,
2
Ye Haifeng and 2Qian Yong
1
Tianjin Electric Power Research Institute, Tianjin, 300384, China
2
Department of Electrical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China

Abstract: The authors investigated the properties of Transient Earth Voltages (TEV) Aroused by Partial Discharge
in Switchgear by Simulation. The mechanism of TEV aroused by partial discharge in switchgears is analyzed. The
Finite Integration Theory (FIT) was employed to simulate the propagation of TEV in the switchgear. The simulation
results show that the pulse width of TEV increases as the pulse width of PD pulse increases and the amplitude of
TEV is proportional to the PD pulse amplitude. There are time differences between the TEV signals of different
detecting points when the TEV propagating on the switchgear’s surface. Based on the simulation, a method of
locating the PD of switchgear is proposed by positioning multi-sensors on the external surface of switchgear.

Keywords: Finite Integral Theory (FIT), Partial Discharge (PD), PD location, switchgear, Transient Earth Voltages
(TEV)

INTRODUCTION

The switchgear is the key equipment of the urban

distribution network and its operational reliability is
closely related to the security and stability of the power
system. In view of the important position of
switchgears in the distribution network, Technical
Specifications of Electric Power Apparatus released by
the State Grid Corporation in 2010 made clear
provisions of the substation switchgear, which required
on-line detection in switchgear. The specification
pushes the maintenance work of the switchgear to the
state repairs. Fig. 1: Measuring principle of TEV
Primary means of on-line testing of switchgear
include infrared thermal image detection, ultraviolet, In this study, the basic principle of the TEV
ultrasonic partial discharge detection and Transient detection technology, as well as excitation and
Earth Voltage (TEV) detection (Reid et al., 2011; Liu propagation characteristics of TEV signals has been
et al., 2009; Wang et al., 2011; Zhang et al., 2005). researched systematically.
TEV detection has been widely received by the
operation and maintenance personnel in the power The basic principle of the transient earth voltage
system due to its ease to operate. detection: Discharge inside the switchgear includes
The TEV detection was first proposed by British surface discharge, internal discharge and point
Dr. John Reeves in 1974 (Reeves, 1987). It is detecting discharge of high-voltage electrodes. In the discharge
the internal discharge phenomenon by detecting the process, frequencies of electromagnetic waves excited
transient earth voltage on the outer surface of the by the PD pulse are up to several GHz (Wang et al.,
switchgear. In the UK, the technology has been widely 2012; Zheng et al., 2011). A transient earth voltage is
used for 30 years in field application (James et al., produced on the metal casing of the device and it can be
2004; Davies and Jones, 2008). However, the domestic detected by a special capacitive sensor installed on the
research started late. It is not until recent years that a outer surface of the device. Thereby, the PD situation
number of colleges and universities began related inside the switchgear can be obtained. The principle of
studies (Cheng et al., 2012; Ren et al., 2010). TEV detection is shown in Fig. 1.

Corresponding Author: Man Yuyan, Tianjin Electric Power Research Institute, Tianjin, 300384, China
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (URL: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
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 Res. J. Appl. Sci. Eng. Technol., 7(1): 97-104, 2014

Induced current density in conductors can be

expressed as:

J z = σ Ez (7)

Assume the electric field parallel to the surface of

the conductor (the tangential electric field at x = 0)
is ‫ܧ‬଴ , we can obtain:

J z = σ E0 e − x / δ e− jx / δ (8)
Fig. 2: Mechanism of TEV on switchgear surface
As is shown in Fig. 2, the total current of the unit
The principle of TEV formation is described in
Fig. 2, showing PD electromagnetic waves incident area in the metal plate on the YOZ plane is:
on the interface of the air and the metal wall of the
switchgear. Defining a plane between the air (x<0) σδ E0
I z = ∫∫ J z ⋅ ds = (9)
region and the metal wall of the switchgear(x>0). 1+ j
Assume the air permittivity and permeability is ߝ଴
and ߤ଴ , respectively and the air characteristic
impedance is ߤ଴ . The surface impedance of the unit area on
Assume that the strength of the electric field on the switchgear metal wall is:
x = 0 plane is:
1+ j
v Z s = Rs + jX s = (10)
E = zE0 (1) σδ

For the electromagnetic waves propagating along When a partial discharge occurs inside the
the x direction in the air, their electric and magnetic switchgear, the high-frequency electromagnetic wave
fields magnitude is: excited by the partial discharge is incident on the
v v surface of the metal wall and excites surface currents.
Ei = zEz = z ε 0 e − j β x (2) When the TEV sensor is mounted on the outer surface
of the switchgear, the pulse voltage can be detected,
v vε (3) i.e., TEV signal.
H i = − yH y = − y 0 e − j β x
η0
SWITCHGEAR PARTIAL DISCHARGE
β is the phase constant of an electromagnetic SIMULATION ANALYSIS
wave:
The switchgear simulation model: In this study, full-
β = ω µ0ε 0 , η0 = ω µ0 ε 0 (4) wave 3D electromagnetic simulation software CST
based on finite integral (FIT) is used to simulate the
The dielectric constant and magnetic permeability generation and dissemination of TEV signals of
of the metal wall of the switchgear is ε and µ, switchgear surface. It provides a theoretical basis and
respectively and the conductivity is σ. The skin depth of technical guidance for on-line switchgear detection.
electromagnetic wave in conductors is δ and the
As is shown in Fig. 3, the overall size of the
propagation constant is γ:
XNG15-12-type switchgear is 500×1000×1600 (mm),
1+ j including A: 500×1000×1250 (mm) and B:
γ = ,δ = 1 (5)
δ π f µσ 500×1000×350 (mm) two spaces.
The 1:1 simulation model according to geometric
Wave equation of the electric field in a conductor dimensions of the switchgear shown in Fig. 3 is built, as
is as follows: is shown in Fig. 4. The two internal spaces A and B of
the switchgear are mutually independent, as is shown in
the front and back side in Fig. 3. Set slits for the
d 2 Ez
− γ 2 Ez = 0 (6) leakage of electromagnetic wave. The slit width is
dx 2 2 mm and slit position is shown in Fig. 3.
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 Res. J. Appl. Sci. Eng. Technol., 7(1): 97-104, 2014

PD excitation source can be simulated by Gaussian

current pulses. The time domain form of Gaussian
current pulses is:

2
/2σ 2
i (t ) = I 0 e− (t −t0 ) (11)

σ is the time constant, determining the pulse

width; I0 is the pulse peak.

Analysis of simulation results:

• The effect of PD source frequency on TEV
signals: As is shown in Fig. 4, create a simulation
model of the switchgear in accordance with the
dimensions shown in Fig. 3 and set the partial
Fig. 3: Dimension of switchgear XNG15-12
discharge excitation source in the internal
coordinate (250,500,250) of the switchgear. In
addition, set up TEV detection points at the outer
surface (500,900,550) in the switchgear.

In order to study the relation of TEV signasl and

PD source signal frequency, make the Gauss current
pulse the excitation source, whose amplitude is 1A and
time constants are 0.4ns, 0.6 ns, 0.8ns, 1ns, 2ns, 3ns,
4ns and 5ns.The excitation source waveform is shown
in Fig. 5.
Due to the above parameters of the simulation, you
can get TEV signals excited by PD excitation sources
of different frequencies. Figure 6 shows the TEV pulse
time-domain waveform obtained by the detection points
when time constant of the excitation source is 0.2 ~ 5ns.
Amplitude of the TEV signal is shown in Table 1.
The curve of the relationship of the TEV signal
Fig. 4: The simulation model of switchgear XNG15-12 amplitude (TEV amp) and the time constant

Fig. 5: Excitations waveforms with pulse width variation

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Res. J. Appl. Sci. Eng. Technol., 7(1): 97-104, 2014

(a) σ = 0.4ns

(b) σ = 0.6ns

(c) σ = 0.6ns

(d) σ = 1ns
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(e) σ = 2ns

(f) σ = 3ns

(g) σ = 4ns

(h) σ =5ns

Fig. 6: Waveforms of TEV with pulse width variation

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Table 1: Amplitude of TEV with pulse width variation 50

σ (ns) 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0
TEV amp (mV) 175.1 126.4 75.0 43.2 19.3 8.3 5.8 4.9
40

200

TEV Amplitude(mV)
30

160
20
TEV Amplitude(mV)

120
10

80
0
0 2 4 6
Pulse Amplitude(A)
40

Fig. 9: Curve of TEV amplitude with pulse amplitude

0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
excitation source, whose time constant is 3ns and the
σ(ns)
amplitudes are respectively 1A, 2A, 3A, 4A and 5A.
According to the above simulation parameters, you
Fig. 7: Curve of TEV amplitude with pulse width variation
can get TEV signals excited by excitation sources of
different intensity. Figure 8 shows TEV pulse
waveforms obtained by different excitations and TEV
signal amplitudes are shown in Table 2.
The relationship curve between the TEV signal
amplitude and the excitation source amplitude I0 can be
obtained from Table 2, as is shown in Fig. 9.
Figure 8, 9 and Table 2 show that the TEV signal
intensity at detection points is proportional to the pulse
current amplitude of the excitation source; the higher
the pulse amplitude of the excitation source, the
stronger the TEV signal of the surface of the
switchgear.

Fig. 8: Waveforms of TEV with pulse amplitude variation • TEV signal distribution of the switchgear
surface: In order to study the TEV distribution of
Table 2: Amplitude of TEV with pulse amplitude variation the shell surface when partial discharge occurs
Excitation amplitude (A) 1.0 2.00 3.00 4.00 5.00 inside the switchgear, set the excitation source
TEV amplitude (mv) 5.5 11.0 16.5 22.0 27.5 coordinates (150,700,500). The time constant of
the excitation source is 3ns and amplitude is 1A.
of excitation source can be obtained corresponding to Select four detection points of the same horizontal
Table 1, as is shown in Fig. 7. plane with the excitation source on the switchgear
From Fig. 6, 7 and Table 1, when the time constant outer surface. Coordinates of detection points are
σ of the excitation source increased from 0.4ns to 5ns, shown in Table 3. The horizontal cross section of
TEV signal amplitude decreases rapidly from 175.1mV the switchgear is divided into four sections along
to 4.9 mV. With the increase of time constant of the the X axis and the Y-axis direction of the
excitation source pulses, the pulse width increases, but switchgear, as is shown in Fig. 10.
the detected TEV signal amplitude would reduce, i.e.,
the higher frequency of the partial discharge source, the TEV pulse waveforms of four detection points on
stronger TEV signal of the switchgear surface. the switchgear outer surface are shown in Fig. 11. From
Fig. 11, when TEV signals propagate on the surface of
• The effect of the excitation source amplitude on the switchgear, signal amplitude variation of different
the TEV signal: Set coordinates of the excitation detection points is not obvious, but there is a significant
source and the detection point as above one, seen time delay. The switchgear interior discharge source
in Fig. 4. Make Gaussian current pulses the can be located initially using this feature.
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Table 3: Amplitude of TEV with pulse amplitude variation Figure 11a shows TEV signal of the detection point
Detection
point number 1 2 3 4
1 leads that of the detection point 2, according to the
Coordinate generation mechanism of TEV signal, the partial
(mm) (0,900,500) (0,100,500) (150,1000,500) (350,1000,500) discharge source is located in (1) or (4) interval of
Fig. 10.

Fig.10: Position of four detection points

(a)

(b)

Fig. 11: TEV waveforms of different detection points

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Similarly, from Fig. 11b, TEV signal of the Davies, N. and D. Jones, 2008. Testing distribution
detection point 3 leads that of the detection point 4 and switchgear for partial discharge in the laboratory
the partial discharge source should be located in (1) or and the field. Proceeding of IEEE International
(2) interval. Symposium on Electrical Insulation, pp: 716-719.
From TEV signals of four detection points, the PD James, E.S., G. Paoletti and I. Blokhintsev, 2004.
source located in (1) interval. Experience with on-line partial discharge analysis
as a tool for predictive maintenance for medium-
CONCLUSION voltage switchgear systems. IEEE Ind. Appl. Mag.,
2004: 41-47.
In this study, simulation model of XNG15-12 Liu, Y.P., H. Wang, J. Wang et al., 2009. Research on
switchgear is created by CST software to simulate and on-ling partial discharge UHF monitoring system
study the relationship of TEV signal and the PD pulse for high voltage switchboard. High Voltage
frequency, amplitude and TEV distribution of the Apparatus, 45(1): 15-17.
switchgear surface: Reeves, J., 1987. Non-invasive detection location and
monitoring of partial discharges in substation HV
• When PD occurs in the switchgear, the generated plant. Proceeding of IEE Conference on
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opening, connector and the cover of the switchgear, Svstems, IEE Conf. Publ., pp: 273.
exciting TEV signal on the outer surface of the Reid, A.J., M.D. Judd, R.A. Fouracre, B.G. Stewart and
metal cabinet. D.M. Hepburn, 2011. Simultaneous measurement
• TEV signal intensity and pulse characteristics of the of partial discharges using IEC60270 and radio
excitation source are closely related. The TEV frequency techniques. IEEE T. Dielect. El. In.,
signal amplitude is proportional to the amplitude of 18(2): 444-455.
the excitation source pulses. TEV signal amplitude Ren, M., H.D. Peng, X.Q. Chen et al., 2010.
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propagating along the switchgear surface. The Wang, J., L. Wei, W. Zhi, L. Jian, H.E Wei et al., 2011.
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ACKNOWLEDGMENT Wang, H., Z.H. Guo, Y.X. Yun et al., 2012. Research
of UHF calibration technique for four kinds of
This study is supported by National High partial discharge defects in GIS. Power Syst.
Technology Research and Development Program (863 Protect. Contr., 40(21): 7-13.
Program) under Grant No. SS2012AA050803. Zhang, Y., J. Tian, F.C. Ye and C. Lu, 2005.
Development of temperature real-time monitoring
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